On either side of the Taj Mahal are buildings of red sandstone. The one to the west is a Mosque. It faces towards Mecca and is used for prayer.

Prince Khurram had been married twice before he met and married Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz bore him 13 children and accompanied him wherever he went. Soon after Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb.

He spent the remainder of his days gazing at the Taj Mahal from the jail. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the Taj Mahal next to his wife. By late 19th century, parts of Taj Mahal had fallen badly into disrepair.